Wichita eagle., 1887-07-14
BOARD OF TRADE LORE.
BUYING WHEAT IN THE PIT AND
ON THE OUTSIDE.

How Operators Speculate in Chicago
One of the Questionable Methods O
Securing Customers-Cleanliness in tn
Board of Trade Rooms.
| According to the rules Of the board on
member is considered in theory to be as goot
as another financially That is. if Brow
stands in the wheat pit with the rest of tn
crowd and cries. "rselltenMayfi'-eight
and Jones cries "Sold!" Brown is obliged Il
accept the trade, no matter what Jones
financial standing may be, for the mere fac
that Jones is member of the association as
sumes that he is a responsible man. Brown
recourse, of course, is to Immediately cal
margins on Jones for sufficient amount tx
protect himself. There are other reasons
| than mans risky financial standing tina
| make operators shun him. For example, il
| he is in the habit of "crawfishing" on trade
that is away from the market, or if, in thu
| old days, he would go back on transaction!
made "on honor" such as puts and calls, which
| were not recognized as legitimate and did moi
come under the rules of the board, the Other
brokers instituted boycott against him
| They cannot refuse point blank to make 6
| trade with him, so when he makes bids Oh
offers they do not see him-simply ignore hi:
| presence entirely. In the confusion of lively
trading there is no way to get around this
for even if the boycotted brother should
bring the matter before the authorities be
could not prove that the other fellow saw
him, so the measure is very effective
1t is in this way that the rest of the crowd
manage to make it difficult for the clique
houses to increase their already large lines OF
long wheat, for whenever any Of the latter
try to buy they are boycotted. To obviate
this the clique operators have been obliged tc
employ the obscure, the light wasted, small
fry brokers, who worm in and out among the
crowd like ferret after rat, and bob UP
under the nose of seller, and shout sold p
in such a way that he is obliged to take the
trade. He inquiries for the brokers' princi.
pal, the broker grins as he gives up the name
of one of the clique, and the syndicate has
bought another lot of wind that may have to
be settled for at big loss to the luckless seller
The clique houses of course, assuming that
there is deal in May wheat, have every
chance in the world to make nice little ten
strikes for any outside parties they may
choose to favor. One of these firms, steady
going, reliable house, that does big, legiti.
IIldle DuSllltSS, udi vi UuclT DOOhS jill dCCOuul
that showed sad deficit. The operator was
gin hole" and there was no immediate pros
pect of his getting out, SO one day when the
market was wallowing in a soft spot, the firm
decided to give him lift. ave will buy you
little jog of wheat" they said, "and carry
it for you a few days. 1t may make you
some money. If it should increase your in
debtedness to us we will let the account run
along until you are in position to squeeze
through" The Spectator was, Of course,
glad to accept such proposition, and the
stuff was bought. A few days later there
was profit in it of about four cents a bushel,
and the chances are that this was carefully
gathered in.
When it comes to speculation in stocks,
there are more ways than one employed by
enterprising brokers to secure desirable Gus
TONER'S Some OF the methods, moreover,
are questionable, and are liable to prove
boomerangs A certain local house tried q
little experiment the other day that did not
turn out exactly as they would have wished
Mr.. Goldandstock, of the aforesaid house. in.
vited Mr.. Flyer, whom he was very anxious
to get on their books, into his private office,
and after carefully closing the door produced
a check for $3.50, which he handed grace
fully to the Spectator.
whats this!' inquired Mr. Flyer
THAT, replied the broker, with a winning
smile, sis our check for S537. 80"
why do you give it to me?"
Its yours, my dear Mr.. Flyer Profits,
you know, on 500 St Paul"
But have made no trade in ST Pauln-
"Oh, no! Certainly mott We made the trade
for your account"
Surely" said Mr.. Flyer, with considerable
establishment, II gave you no authorityl'
''True, replied Goldandstock, glibly, ''qute
true! The fact is, dear boy, assumed the
responsibility" striking 'me-and- Napoleon
attitude. you see, we had a direct tip on
st. Paul, and knew we could make a good
turn, SO we let you in for a part of it. AL
ways like to share our advantages for inside
information with our customers"
''Well, can't accept the check" said Mr..
Flyer, shortly
"Oh, come, now! That's all right! Wen
place it to your credit on our books"
You'll do nothing of the kind decline
to recognize any such proceeding" And
Mr.. Flyer, thoroughly out of patience,
turned and left the room abruptly.
quite scheme" be concluded, when tell.
ing the incident to friend, "but it wouldn't
work with me. Besides, think of the big
losses would have been liable to incur. by
proxy. No, when / speculate have a sneak
ing preference for giving my own orders"
In the eyes of the governing powers of tn
board personal cleanliness is next to clea.
conscience, and in concentrating the former
end there are from GOO to 500 clean towels
used in the wash room every day, and some
times even more. 1t is no small job, either,
to keep the huge exchange hall in presentable
condition. Each day at the close of the after.
noon session the colored brigade takes posses.
sion of the floor, and it is swept from one end
to the other, a diminutive Italian CARRYING of
the waste paper and the janitor harvesting
his very much mixed crop of grain from
under the sample tables. This usually
amounts to three or four bushels of stuff
corn, oats, wheat, barley, etc-and, after be-
ing labeled chicken feed" is converted into
cash, proving quite source of revenue in the
long run. The great big windows that en-.
compass the hall are washed on SUNDAYS and
holidays, whenever the weather will admit,
and every Saturday afternoon the floor and
the several pits are given such a scrubbinc
with soap and hot water as would. if con.
centrated. keep an average small boy com.
paratyely clean for at least a week-Chicago
Herald
The Word "Jugulate."
\ gifted Pacific coast reporter has coined
the word -jugulate," to describe the act of a
man who cuts his throat. And this is the way
he VIII now chronicle such items of news:
n ,.As~